Against A Fact There Is No Argument

“Against a fact there is no argument" is a quote taken from page 333 of the Dimond Brothers’ book "The Truth about What Really Happened to the Catholic Church after Vatican II".

The quote above ambiguously presupposes that the purported “fact” has been quantified, substantiated and proven as being such. Without such proof, especially in religious matters, any ensuing debate becomes little more than an “argument from ignorance”.

This “argument from ignorance”, is also known as an “appeal to ignorance” (in which ignorance represents "a lack of contrary evidence"), which is a fallacy in informal logic. It asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false or a proposition is false because it has not yet been proven true.

This represents a type of false dichotomy in that it excludes a third option, which is that there may have been a deficiency in the investigation of the proposition in question, and therefore there is actually insufficient information to prove the proposition to be either true or false. Nor does this false dichotomy allow for the admission that the choices provided may NOT be two (i.e. True or False), but rather may be as many as four possible choices:

True;

False;

Unknown between True or False; or

Being unattainable / unknowable (a mystery).

In their audio debates, at which the Dimond Brothers excel, this “appeal to ignorance” is the primary tactic they’ve adopted and use in an attempt to shift the burden of proof onto the person they are debating and away from themselves. One must marvel at their mastery of this “skill of deceit” as it has proven itself to be quite successful in drawing an ever increasing number of disgruntled Catholics away from the Church and into their international sedevacantist cyber congregation … and into schism.

To protect oneself from succumbing to their demonic “sirens call” and naively falling prey to the theological snares set by these miscreant “brothers”, the “Christian Faithful”, must first understand and accept the distinction made between what is "personal opinion" and that which is divine "knowledge".

In Catholicism, divine "knowledge" is derived from and appropriately backed up by the “Teaching Authority of Christ’s Church” (i.e. the magisterium … the teaching authority which is vested uniquely in the Pope and the Bishops who are in communion with him). That divine “knowledge” is then, and can ONLY be, provided to the Christian Faithful by those who have undergone the sacred rigors of 8+ years of supervised theological instruction (i.e. from teachers possessing the legitimate authority to teach) before receiving their commission / ordination, by the laying on of hands, into the priesthood of God.

As for those holding and professing "personal opinions", that go contrary to the teachings of the Church, such “opinions” are scandalous and condemned. To be counted with the Christian Faithful, Catholics are required to submit themselves to, obey, and believe in “all things” the Church teaches through the Magisterium. This is a strict non-negotiable requirement and remains an essential part of a Catholic's Profession of Faith.

Do not be deceived! Those who falsely claim to be “teachers”, those autodidacts (self-taught theologians), like the Dimond Brothers, who have never had any formal catechetical instruction, let alone theological training, imagine that this does not matter; but they are wrong. These "brothers" are guilty, before God, of promoting scandal and schism; and they will be held accountable.

"Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." - St Luke 17:1-2

"Against a fact there is no argument"

The "facts" prove that the Most Holy Family Monastery (MHFM) in Fillmore, New York is NOT actually an Order of St Benedict; but rather a legitimate secular New York not-for-profit corporation (file #1751088) run of two "brothers" who have willfully deluded themselves, and a myriad of others, into believing that one can be obstinate in their heresy and schism with the Holy See and still remain Catholic.

"Against a fact there is no argument"

Concerning the Dimond Brothers:

They are NOT professed Benedictine Monks.

They did NOT receive the required canonical provision to start a Fillmore, New York, Benedictine community.

They are NOT ordained to the priesthood and therefore have NOT been "sent" (commissioned) by Christ to teach and preach.

They are Sedevacantist and as such they are guilty of schism and are "outside" the Church.

As Father James Wathen rightly pointed out in "A Note About The Dimond Brothers" (September 5, 2004):

“The two 'Brothers' Dimond are two worrisome little men. Without any authorization and without proper theological training, they have endeavored to establish themselves as teachers of the faithful and ‘certifiers’ of all priests in this country. They make a lot of money with their misleading publications, tapes, etc., and they spend much time on the phone persuading people to stay away from the Masses of non-Sedevacantist priests. Who knows how many Catholics of good will have been persuaded to stay home for months on end -- even years -- rather than attend Mass, confess their sins, and receive Holy Communion? I urge everyone to give these men a wide berth; do not buy or circulate their materials, even those which are acceptable. Do not send them money."